I organized several secret swaps for my quilt guild andfound that you have to set some construction and design parameters. My potholder swap had the following “rules”:
Size: approximately 9” in diameter or 9” square
Batting: either 2 layers of insul-brite OR a sandwich oftwo thin cotton batting squares with a square of insul-brite in the center. Thisensures the safety of your swap partner when using your gift.
If you saw your own pot holder for sale, you would paybetween $7 and $9 for it. The “price” parameter gave people a very good idea of thelevel of effort they needed to put into it.
These parameters brought excellent results and everyone was very happy with what they got.